Talking on water is a swell idea, say event organisers

The cruise line, which expanded capacity by 50% with the addition of Pacific Eden and Pacific Aria in late 2015, says enquiries and bookings for its five-ship fleet continued to grow as more meeting groups discovered the benefits of holding their event on-board a ship.

Australia’s P&O Cruises has reported a growing number of meetings at sea, with its corporate group bookings increasing by 54% in 2016.

The cruise line, which expanded capacity by 50% with the addition of Pacific Eden and Pacific Aria in late 2015, says enquiries and bookings for its five-ship fleet continued to grow as more meeting groups discovered the benefits of holding their event on-board a ship.

P&O Cruises corporate groups sales manager Rebecca Mutanen said the hike in the number of meetings at sea had also translated into growth in overall delegate numbers, with the cruise line carrying 64% more corporate passengers in 2016 than 2015.

“There is no doubt that meetings at sea are appealing to organisers and delegates alike. Not only have we attracted far more corporate guests on-board our ships this year, our forward bookings are very strong,” Mutanen said.

Group sizes ranged from 16 to more than 200 during the year, with the average size at around 50 guests.

While just over half of bookings were for short break conferences, P&O has seen an increase in conference, incentive and meeting bookings on cruises of seven nights or more, with the longer cruises now accounting for about a quarter of total group numbers.

With cruises on offer from six ports around Australia, Sydney was the most popular departure point for corporate groups in 2016 accounting for 42% of bookings followed by 32% from Brisbane.

P&O is anticipating further growth in 2017 with the June addition of the 77,000-tonne Pacific Explorer, the largest ship yet for P&O Cruises, which will replace Pacific Pearl.

Value remained a key attraction for organisers, with an event at sea costing an average of A$292 per day (US$212), “all-inclusive – far less than a comparable event on land”, she said.

“Not only is the cruise fare all inclusive – covering meeting space, accommodation, main meals and entertainment – an event at sea is incredibly easy to organise.”